Video games are the dominant medium of today's students. 90% of American children play them daily. It's no surprise that game development education is a great way to engage students in STEM literacy and education, and GameSalad is the fastest way to get your students engaged in experimenting, iterating, and building games. In this session, we'll introduce you to GameSalad, show you how easy it is to build games with it, and how schools all over the world use GameSalad in their classrooms. Originally presented at SXSW Edu 2014

1. GameSalad for Education
Dan Magaha
danm@gamesalad.com
Level up your STEM education program with GameSalad.
Wednesday, March 5, 14

2. Dan Magaha
Director of Operations
GameSalad, Inc.
danm@gamesalad.com
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14

3. The Future of Games in EDU
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14
3
danm@gamesalad.com

4. The Future of Games in EDU
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14
4
danm@gamesalad.com

5. The Future of Games in EDU
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14
5
danm@gamesalad.com

6. The Future of Games in EDU
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14
6
danm@gamesalad.com

7. The Future of Games in EDU
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14
7
danm@gamesalad.com

8. The Future of Games in EDU
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14
8
danm@gamesalad.com

9. GUI for Game Development
http:/
/www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPEhjHnvuCQ
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14
9
danm@gamesalad.com

10. A New Way to Learn to Code
Traditional Game Development
Visual Development
Intimidating, tedious
No coding required
Visual development dramatically changes the learning curve
•
Programming can be intimidating, tedious, and boring.
•
GameSalad demystifies game development and fosters experimentation.
•
Rapid development model allows students to achieve success quickly.
•
Rule-based pseudocode approach develops logical & analytical skills.
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14
10
danm@gamesalad.com

11. Professional Strength Tools
GameSalad enables designers to quickly create sophisticated games for iOS,
Android & HTML5 without having to write a single line of code.
700,000
developers
200,000
games created
70 Top 100
games in the US App Store
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14
11
danm@gamesalad.com

12. How is game design being used?
Middle/High School
• Game design courses
• Entrepreneurship & business courses
• Introduction to programming
• Art & visual design
• In lieu of traditional “book reports” or
•
•
•
•
group projects
Multimodal communication exercises
Modeling and simulation of physical
sciences
Developing targeted instructional
design
“Gaming for a cause”
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14
12
danm@gamesalad.com

13. How is game design being used?
Elementary School & Younger Learners
• Deconstruction exercises
• Cause / effect simulations
• Group discussions of technology
•
concepts
Customized instructional design /
remediation games
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14
13
danm@gamesalad.com

14. Case Studies
Doug Gregory - PSJA Early Memorial High
• 3rd year teaching game design
• Classes of 20 students
• Each student builds a full game project
•
from scratch including all design, art,
sound, and implementation
Now offering dual credit with Texas
State Technical College
“Students are passionate about creating
their own games. GameSalad gives
students a great starting point, while
also allowing them to grow as the
designers & programmers of the
future. “
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14
14
danm@gamesalad.com

15. Case Studies
Chris Thompson - Georgia Tech CEISMIC Initiative
• PEAKS Summer Camp program
• K-12 STEM education focus
• Started teaching game design in 2010
• Teaches over 200 students each
•
summer to develop games with
GameSalad
Frequent speaker at edu conferences
“Every Teacher Should Become an App
Creator”
92% of students who attended camp
said it increased their interest in
computer science
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14
15
danm@gamesalad.com

16. Case Studies
Dr. Steven Holmes - George Mason University
• Professor, English Department
• Focus on digital and multimodal
•
•
•
rhetoric studies
Uses GameSalad as a tool for student
multimedia projects
Considers GameSalad the “iMovie of
videogames”
Other uses of the tool include technical
writing class for healthcare majors,
persuasive games and political science
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14
16
“GameSalad offers a great solution to
the pragmatic confines of time and
space that face rhetoric and writing
teachers who are interested in video
game design.”
danm@gamesalad.com

17. Case Studies
Mrs. Denise Jackson - Wimberley High School
• CTE / Technology Teacher
• Rural school district w/699 students
• 2nd year teaching game design
• Students initially developed simple
•
games but graduated to sophisticated
instructional design projects
Her students are now building math
remediation games for Wimberley
Elementary
“All students play games but few realized
the effort behind creating them...
GameSalad opened their eyes to what
they could accomplish.”
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14
17
danm@gamesalad.com

18. Case Studies
iD Tech Camps
• Largest summer camp program in the
•
•
•
world
Now in 15th year of operation
Utilizes GameSalad for game design
camps at middle and high school level
Over 5,000 students a year get their
first introduction to game design at iD
using GameSalad
“It’s not just them sitting and playing...
it’s them actually understanding the
dynamic behind it and what goes into
it...”
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14
18
danm@gamesalad.com

19. Educational Offering
Turn-key STEM Education
• Specialized Education SKU
• Comprehensive Curriculum
• Optional Textbook
• Certification Program
• Webinars & Live Training Events
• Asset Packs for Educators
• Priority Technical Support
• Educator/Student Discounts
gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Wednesday, March 5, 14
19
danm@gamesalad.com

20. Level Up your STEM education program!
www.gamesalad.com/sxsw2014
Dan Magaha
danm@gamesalad.com
Wednesday, March 5, 14